The history of the World Cup suggests that the eventual winner of the 2014 tournament, staged in Brazil, will be won by a country from South America. It will be the seventh time the trophy will be competed for in that part of the world and in all of the previous six the winners have been from that continent (twice each for Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay). read more »

It is unquestionably the biggest and most prestigious tournament in world football. The 32 nations, representing five continents, will all compete in three weeks time each hoping for World Cup glory. The fact that it is being held in Brazil only heightens the build up and anticipation of the tournament. read more »

The scenes in the Camp Nou on Saturday evening were something to behold. On the pitch the entire Atletico Madrid squad and backroom staff celebrated their first league Championship win for 18 years along with their travelling 447 fans up at the top tier of the stadium. Even some of the Barcelona fans, who had seen their faint title hoped dashed in the 1-1 draw, remained behind to congratulate this quite phenomenal achievement. read more »

The final afternoon of the 2013/14 Premier League was surprisingly uneventful. Manchester City secured three points against a better than expected rally from West Ham whilst Liverpool’s victory over Newcastle secured them second place. Following a season of unpredictability it was a rather quiet end to the season and not the climactic one Sky Sports had hoped it would be.

The quality of the current Manchester United team is probably somewhere in the middle of the last two seasons.

2012/13 saw Sir Alex Ferguson mastermind a rip-roaring success. His Manchester United team collected more points from losing positions than any other Barclays Premier League team before them. They conceded goals early and allowed teams to come at them; but always threw enough at them to leave with three points. There were memorable comebacks like the one against Aston Villa. There were crazy opening periods like the 4-3 victory over Reading. There was the last gasp victory over Manchester City. The flaws in the team were evident but the goals of Robin van Persie, a gung-ho attitude and the aura of the manager were enough to paper over any cracks.

2013/14 didn’t go so well. David Moyes didn’t react with the same bullish attitude as his predecessor in the face of setbacks. He didn’t throw the kitchen sink at teams after an early goal went in. He waited for the system to pull them round and it couldn’t. There wasn’t the inspiration from the sidelines and there wasn’t a fully-fit Robin van Persie to pop up at the right moment to rescue points.

The quality of the squad is probably worthy of back-to-back top four finishes in the last two seasons but the difference in the managers, and their coaching teams, saw a dramatic swing either way.

Last season Manchester United ran away with the Premiership crown, clinching on April 22 and finishing 11 points clear of their Mancunian rivals to secure their record 20th top-flight title. Unlike that season, the 2013/14 campaign is packed with the kinds of drama the previous year lacked, as every fixture down the stretch for the top three clubs is crucial to their chances.

Sir Alex Ferguson is not the type of man that would enjoy meeting himself. His brash, arrogant personality that supposedly makes way to a gentlemen full of kindness. His mannerism of picking fights with officials and opposition teams at just the right time to shake the attention away from his own players and their failings. A young Alex Ferguson would have got under the skin of the senior version and that’s why he made the wrong choice when finding his successor at Manchester United.